While the 5A, 4A and 1A DII classifications head into the regular season’s final week with playoffs spots still up for grabs, the state’s other three classifications begin playoff action this weekend.

    Teams in the 1A DI, 2A and 3A begin the quest for state championship gold at various sites all over the state starting tonight in Holt Arena.

    This is the time of year that all fans and supporters of the team who have made the playoffs get the chance to see how good their teams really are and if the dreams of winning a state title will become a reality.

    Let’s take a look at this weekend’s first round match-up’s by classification.

    1A DI

Raft River (3-5) at Grace (7-1), 7 p.m. Friday

    Last season two late season district losses ruined a 7-2 season as Grace failed to reach the playoffs.

    The 2012 Grizzlies made sure that missing the playoffs would not happen again.

    The only hiccup on the schedule for Grace during the season was a 66-20 loss at Hagerman on Sept. 28.

    Grace gets a rematch of a Sept. 14 game as their opener for the 2012 playoffs as Raft River will make a second trip to Grace.    

    In the first meeting a 14-point fourth quarter turned out to be the difference when senior quarterback Josh Jensen threw and ran for touchdowns.

    The senior-laden Grizzlies are looking to make some noise in the playoffs. A second home win over Raft River will get Grace one step closer to the ultimate goal of winning a state championship.

2A

Malad (2-6) vs. Salmon (5-1) 5: 30 p.m. today at Holt Arena

    Malad had a rough regular season, to say the least.

    The Dragons won just one of their first six games to start the season and suffered a rash of injuries that derailed what could have a been a successful season for first-year head coach Coda Tchida.

    All of the struggles of the season immediately were thrown out the window when Malad beat undefeated Soda Springs on Oct. 12 to put themselves in playoff contention.

    Just like last season it took a Kansas City playoff for the Dragons to get into the playoffs, but this season the team hopes not to suffer the same fate as last season, a first-round playoff loss.

    Unfortunately, the Dragons must take on a Salmon team that suffered just one loss and that game to the state’s top 2A team in Firth.

    It is going to take a near flawless performance for the Dragons to down Salmon, but in the playoffs anything is possible.

North Fremont (2-6) at West Side (6-2), 5 p.m. today

    After starting the season 0-2, the Pirates enter the playoffs on a six-game winning streak including defeating each of the other 2A Fifth District teams in the last three weeks.

    Last season West Side lost in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Grangeville and this years team is looking for a return to the state title.

    But junior quarterback Trevor Montes and the rest of his Pirates teammates cannot let North Fremont’s 2-6 record fool them.

    The Huskies from Ashton have played all of the top 2A teams in Eastern Idaho this year. After losing the season’s first six games the Huskies have won their last two in blowout fashion.

    Dayton is a tough place for opposing teams to play, North Fremont will find out how tough today.

Aberdeen (4-4) at Declo (8-0), 7 p.m. Friday

     After starting the season 3-1, the Aberdeen Tigers finished 1-3, but the one win was a 21-9 win over Malad that put the Tigers in last Saturday’s Kansas City playoff.

    The Tigers came up big in the playoff knocking of Soda Springs to earn its spot in the playoffs.

    Senior fullback/linebacker Rodrigo Bravo was a big time performer for Aberdeen during the Kansas City playoff. He will have to come up big again if the Tigers are to stay around in the playoffs.

    Standing in Aberdeen’s way is No. 2 ranked and undefeated Declo.

    Declo enters the playoffs having shutout half of its opponents this season.

    Of the four teams that were able to score on the Hornets defense, Wendell scored the most points with 20. The Hornets’ offense is averaging 54 points a game.

Valley (3-5) vs. Firth (8-0), 8:15 today at Holt Arena

    Last season Firth was the surprise of the state after reaching the 2A state title game with a 6-6 record.

    This season the Cougars are a surprise to no one, and one of the top teams in the state.

Along with Declo, Firth is one of the favorites to win the state championship.    

    The key to the Cougars is senior utility player Mitch Orme.

    Orme is by far the Cougars most dynamic player and one of its top offensive threats. Stopping him will be key if Valley want to win the game.

    Quarterback Jacob Orme is the triggerman for the Cougars’ run heavy attack. Stopping the run will be the key to victory for Valley.

    Firth set out this season looking to make a deep run into the 2A playoffs. They find themselves as one of the favorites to win it all. How the team reacts to that pressure will be key to how far Firth will go.

3A

American Falls (5-3) at Gooding (8-0), 7 p.m. Friday

    Before the season, American Falls head coach Pat Patterson said his team had a recent trend of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

    The goal for 2012 was to find a way to reverse that trend.

    To do that the Beavers are going have to find a way to knock off undefeated Gooding.

    American Falls started the year 3-0, but finished the season 2-3 including suffering a 41-0 loss on senior night to Snake River last week.

    Senior quarterback Nick Herseim leads the Beavers’ offense. At times this season, he has looked like an experienced senior quarterback. On other occasions he has struggled running the quick-strike attack.

    If Herseim struggles, the offense does well as most of the Beavers’ speed is at the receiver position.

    The task facing the Beavers is tough, but Patterson and the Beavers have the experience and depth to pull off the upset. It, unfortunately, will take a near perfect game to do so.

Bear Lake vs. Teton, 1 p.m. Saturday at Holt Arena

    Of all the local high schools there may be no bigger surprise than the turnaround that has occurred at Bear Lake.

    After struggling to win games the last two seasons, second-year head coach Jared Farmer and his team finished the season with a 4-4 record and a berth in the 3A playoffs.

    The Bears open the playoffs with Teton, a team that handed them a 31-0 loss on Sept. 21.

    While Bear Lake has improved since the loss to Teton, the team is still inexperienced on the big stage of the state playoffs.

    In their four victories the Bears have played extremely well. In the four losses, the Bear have struggled with bigger and faster opponents.

    Senior running back Tyrel Anderson is the key to the Bear Lake offense. He has carried the load for the Bears in each of their victories. He will need to have another big game if Bear Lake is to move on.

    Teton suffered just loss, a 51-6 loss to Shelley.

Snake River (6-3) vs. Sugar-Salem (4-4), 4 p.m. Saturday at Holt Arena

    During the 2011 season, the defending 3A state champion Snake River Panthers started the season 3-3 before eventually embarking on a run to title.

    The 2012 season started out 1-3,  the last of those losses was a 56-22 beating at the hands of rival Blackfoot.

    Since that Sept. 14 loss, the Panthers have won five straight, outscoring their opponents 185-27.

    Senior quarterback Wyatt Wray is the leader of the offense, and his play has shown it over the last five weeks.

    Wray was a big part of the Panthers success during the championship season of 2011, and he looks to have returned to his form in the last five weeks.

    Head coach Jeff Dalley has said that he believes this year’s team is more balanced that last season’s squad. When the team is balanced the Panthers are successful; when not, they struggle.

    A solid effort by Wray and getting the running game going is the key to a Snake River victory.

    Sugar-Salem defeated the Panthers 28-24 when he two teams met on Sept. 7 in Sugar City.

Shelley (8-0) vs. Buhl (2-6), 7 p.m. Saturday at Holt Arena

    First-year Shelley head coach Travis Hobson has had quite the rookie season.

    Not only are the Russets the No. 2 team in the 3A media polls, the team is 8-0 and playing its best football as the playoffs begin.

    Over the last three weeks of the regular season the Russets have outscored their opponents 147-14, so stopping quarterback Chad Leckington and receiver McKay Cannon will be the key for Buhl.

    The Russets have beat two teams from 5A (Idaho Falls and Hillcrest), and one from 4A (Preston) during their first season back at the 3A level. So playing tough competition is something the Russets are used to.

    All season long, many in the media thought that Shelley was the clear favorite to win the state championship. Heading into the playoffs there may be no team playing as well as the Russets.

    Hobson calls his squad a smash mouth, Wing-T team meaning Buhl will see a heavy dose of the Shelley running backs.

    Shelley should not be tested much by Buhl, especially with an offense that is averaging 42 points per game. Buhl definitely will have its work cut out for them if they have any hope of winning the game.